Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Generation Z candidate Maxwell Frost won his Democratic primary in Florida on Tuesday and this fall, he could become the first of his generation to have a seat in Congress.
Frost, 25, is the projected Democratic challenger in Florida's 10th District after defeating party establishment candidate and state Sen. Randolph Bracy and a crowded field of eight other candidates.
"We won! Thank you so much to all of our supporters, endorsers, volunteers and staff," Frost tweeted Tuesday. "We won because of our message: Love. That no matter who you are, you deserve healthcare, a livable wage, and to live free from gun violence.
"We made history tonight."
Born in 1997, Frost had just met requirements to run for a seat in the House. Lawmakers in the lower chamber must be at least 25 when they are sworn in. Those born between 1997 and 2012 are considered members of Gen Z.
If he wins in November, Frost will become the youngest member of Congress. Presently, the youngest is 27-year-old Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., who lost his primary earlier this year.
Polling and politicians believe that Frost can win the general election in November when he will face Republican military veteran Calvin Wimbish. The Orlando-based seat, formerly held by Democratic Rep. Val Demings, is a predominately Democratic district. Demings gave up the seat to run for the Senate.
Frost also has a number of key national endorsements from progressive leaders, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He's also surpassed other candidates in fundraising.
Frost has leveraged his young age to campaign on issues including the Green New Deal, Medicare for all, student debt cancellation and gun control.
"Our generation has been born into a lot of trauma and a lot of civil unrest around people being frustrated with things," Frost told NPR. "And I think because of that, our generation naturally thinks about things in a bit of a different way."
Frost is Black and Latino, a combination that's rare in a member of Congress. Frost was adopted, did not finish college, does not come from wealth and has never held office. Instead, he's spent time volunteering in the community and speaking out about abortion rights and gun control, while driving for Uber to make ends meet.
"I quit my job to do this. I drive Uber to pay my bills. It's a sacrifice to be honest," Frost said according to Politico. "But I'm doing it because I can't imagine myself not doing anything but fixing the problems we have right now."
Frost is an ACLU activist and was the national organizing director for the March for Our Lives, a student-led demonstration in Washington, D.C., to support gun reform legislation.
"As a young man, I experienced police abuse firsthand and saw my community ravaged by gun violence. And I've experienced how working people and people of color are unjustly marginalized and left behind in our society," Frost wrote on his website.
Frost said he decided to get into politics when he was 15 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and organized an "end gun violence" drive. He said he decided to run for Congress after meeting his biological mother, who told him she gave him up for adoption because she struggled with addiction, crime and poverty.
Frost, whose platform centers on "the future we deserve," says it is time to elect younger leaders to give younger voters a voice in Washington.
"I just represent a new type of politics," Frost said in his interview with NPR. "Yes we march, yes we engage in mutual aid, yes we engage on social media.
"And now we're running for office."
